The present invention relates generally to headwear. Stated more particularly, this patent discloses and protects a visor with inverted display material that can be worn in an upside-down orientation while nonetheless providing an upright depiction of the display material.
The prior art has, of course, disclosed numerous visor structures and designs. A typical visor provides a bill and a means for retaining the bill relative to a wearer""s head. The means for retaining the bill relative to the wearer""s head in some cases comprises a pair of resiliently deflectable opposed legs for frictionally engaging opposite sides of the wearer""s head. In other cases, the means for retaining the bill relative to the wearer""s head takes the form of a strap for entirely encircling the head of the wearer. An adjustment means, such as a buckle arrangement or hook and loop members, can enable the size of the loop defined by the strap to be adjusted to accommodate wearer""s with different head sizes.
In traditional practice, such visors will be worn with the bill situated with its proximal portion adjacent to the wearer""s forehead and the body of the bill projecting therefrom. As such, the bill, which is often laterally bowed, can protect the wearer""s face against the potentially harmful effects of the sun while providing comfortable and useful shade to the wearer""s eyes. In many respects, it is additionally advantageous that visors provide these and further benefits without overlying the top of the wearer""s head. As such, the visor avoids matting down the wearer""s hair while, among other things, allowing heat to escape from the top of the wearer""s head, which can be particularly advantageous when the visor is worn during hot weather and during physical activity.
Most visors further include a header that is transverse to the bill for being disposed against the wearer""s forehead. Where the visor is retained by a strap, the header can be a contiguous segment of the strap and can be formed from a textile, a polymer, or substantially any other type of material. Where the visor has opposed legs, the header can comprise a separate piece of cloth, plastic, or other material. Alternatively, the header can be formed integrally with the bill, such as by being molded therewith as a single polymeric member.
In any case, by virtue of its orientation relative to the bill, the body of the header provides a display area or portion that can have logos, graphics, text, or any other display material applied thereto. However, many visors additionally or alternatively have logos, graphics, text, and other display material applied elsewhere on the visor, such as along the strap, on one or both opposed legs, and even on the bill itself. By way of example, many visors have the logos and/or the names of sports teams displayed on their headers, straps, legs, or other outwardly facing surface or surfaces while other visors retain corporate names or logos. These and substantially any other display materials can be applied to the visor header, the strap, one or both opposed legs, and/or on the visor bill whether by being printed thereon, by being stitched therein, by being secured in the form of a patch, or by any other suitable method. Display material normally has an upright orientation and an upside-down orientation. Where the display material has an orientation, it is of course disposed on the visor such that it will displayed in an upright orientation when the visor is worn in what can be considered a traditional or upright manner with the header against the wearer""s forehead and the bill projecting from under the header.
However, it has become fashionable among certain groups of wearers to wear visors in a markedly different manner, namely, upside down and, at times, backward. When a traditional visor is worn upside down, the display material disposed thereon will necessarily be displayed upside down. With that, the display material, whether it be a team logo, an advertisement, or any other displayed element, loses its effectiveness as an advertisement or other display since the observer sees only an overturned image.
As a result, it has become clear to the present inventors that a visor construction that can enable a wearer to wear the visor in an upside down orientation while nonetheless providing an upright depiction of display material would be advantageous to wearers, advertisers, sports teams, and any other person or entity that would be well served by the provision of such an orientation of display material.
Advantageously, the present invention is founded on the most broadly stated object of providing a visor construction that enables the visor to be worn in an upside down orientation while providing an upright depiction of display material.
A related object of the invention is to provide a visor construction that demonstrates added utility to advertisers, sports teams, and wearers by not frustrating the intent of the advertisers, sports teams, and wearers to have the depicted logo, advertisement, or other material depicted in an upright and legible manner.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a visor construction that is unique as compared to the prior art thereby to present a stylish improvement over prior art visor arrangements.
These and further objects and advantages of the invention will become obvious not only to one who reviews the present specification and drawings but also to one who has an opportunity to make use of an embodiment of the present invention for a visor with inverted display material. However, it will be appreciated that, although the accomplishment of each of the foregoing objects in a single embodiment of the invention may be possible and indeed preferred, not all embodiments will seek or need to accomplish each and every potential object and advantage. Nonetheless, all such embodiments should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
In carrying forth these and further objects, a most basic embodiment of the visor construction is founded on a header panel with a body portion that has a first, outwardly facing surface and a second surface for being disposed adjacent to the head of the wearer. A bill is fixed to the header panel projecting transversely from its first, outwardly facing surface, and a means is provided for retaining the header panel and the bill relative to the wearer""s head. The bill is normally arcuate such that it has a first face presenting a convex surface and an opposite second face presenting a concave surface.
The visor construction can be considered to have an upright orientation wherein the arcuate bill is disposed with the convex surface facing generally upwardly and the concave surface facing generally downwardly such that the bill presents an arc with a middle portion disposed above downturned end portions. In such a case, the majority of the header is normally disposed above the bill. The visor also has an upside down orientation wherein the bill is disposed with the concave surface facing generally upwardly and the convex surface facing generally downwardly such that the bill presents an arc with a middle portion disposed below upturned end portions.
Display material, such as a logo, textual material, or any other possible material that one might seek to display on a visor, is disposed on the visor, such as on the display portion of the header panel, on a strap or legs that act as means to retain the visor in place on a wearer""s head, on the arcuate bill, or on any other outwardly facing surface of the visor. Under the present invention, the display material has an upright orientation and an upside down orientation and is oriented upside down as compared to the visor construction. Under this arrangement, the visor construction can be worn on a wearer""s head in an upside down orientation while nonetheless providing an upright depiction of the display material.
As noted above, the header panel and the bill can be retained relative to the wearer""s head by any suitable means, such as a strap that defines a loop for encircling the wearer""s head. Where such a strap is provided, the visor construction can further include a means for adjusting the size of the loop defined by the strap. That means could comprise a buckle arrangement, a hook and loop combination, a button combination, or any other suitable arrangement. In certain embodiments, the header panel can simply comprise a segment of the strap, such as by having the two elements formed from one or more pieces of textile material.
In an alternative construction, the means for retaining the header panel and the bill relative to the wearer""s head can comprise first and second resiliently deflectable legs for frictionally engaging opposite sides of the wearer""s head. Under such an arrangement, the header panel, the bill, and the first and second resiliently deflectable legs could be formed unitarily of a polymeric material.
The particular content of the display material is of little consequence. For example, it can comprise a logo, name, or slogan of a sports team, company, school, or any other person or entity, an artistic element, or any other possible type of display. The display material could be disposed on the header portion, on the strap or legs, on the bill, or on any other outwardly facing surface in any appropriate manner, including by printing, by stitching, or by securing a patch.
One will appreciate that the foregoing discussion broadly outlines the more important features of the invention to enable a better understanding of the detailed description that follows and to instill a better appreciation of the inventors"" contribution to the art. Before an embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction, descriptions of geometry, and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.